Stress Levels
by theboywithdeerantlers
Summary: "Goddamnit!" was all I heard before a dry-erase marker flew past my head, striking the wall with a dull plastic thunk. Looking up from the laptop in front of me, I looked to see Silver the Hedgehog fuming.
1. Chapter 1

Inspiration:

Person: "Hey, what's up?"

Me: "My stress levels."

.

A one-shot based on Silver + Text posts from Tumblr. I'm seriously considering adding more, so please stay tuned!"Goddamnit!" was all I heard before a dry-erase marker flew past my head, striking the wall with a dull plastic thunk. Looking up from the laptop in front of me, I looked over to see Silver the Hedgehog fuming.

* * *

With dramatic flair, he took his gloved hand and wiped it across the whiteboard, smearing what looked to be very a complicated and long equation. He turned around with a huff, walked over to the seat across from me, and heaved into it — resting his forehead to the faux wood grain in defeat.

"Are you okay?" I asked, deciding the likelihood of getting a finger chomped off was lower now that he looked deflated. His only response was to groan, lifting his head off the table slightly before bringing it down again. It wasn't near hard enough to be painful, but his frustration couldn't have been made more obvious.

"I spent over 27 minutes on a single problem before realizing that I made a dumb math error and had done the wrong problem," he finally admitted. "I'm never going to get through this stupid class — I officially renounce math." Before he could bring his head down to strike his forehead again, I slid my hand between the table and his head.

"Would you stop that?" I asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. He only sighed, wallowing in what we had both come to coin as math pity. I closed my laptop with my other hand and took a moment to regard the hedgehog in front of me.

A year into our relationship and I still found new things about him endearing. However, this wasn't the first time I had seen him get frustrated over an assignment and I doubt it'd be the last.

"You realize that as a math major, renouncing the subject is a little counterintuitive?" I said. This brought a little smile to my face, thinking about how much he'd brought out the dry humor in me. I expected him to take the bait and respond with some barb about how galaxy-brained it was of me to point that out, especially as a graphic design major — but he just continued to stare blankly past the table in front of him.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked, now slightly concerned.

"My stress levels," he mumbled. I had heard enough.

"Break time," I announced, withdrawing my hand and sliding back my chair to stand up. I walked around to his side of the table and started tugging at his chair. Begrudgingly he stood up.

Taking his hand I started walking us briskly through the library, past other Mobians quietly studying. Eventually, we reached the vending machines a floor below where we had been. I let go of Silver's hand and fished for my wallet in the pockets of my jeans.

"What do you want?" I asked, looking behind me. Silver, who had taken out his phone and was busy scrolling away on Chriper just waved his hand to say that anything was fine. I decided that a college appropriate dose of junk was in order and got us two bags of chips and those pretend-healthy energy drinks. Noticing he was still busy with his phone, I took one of the drinks and pressed it to his cheek. This seemed to do the trick as he snapped his head up to look at me with fake betrayal.

"How about we watch some mindless, stupid internet videos and then get back to work," I suggested.

"But you hate that kind of stuff," Silver replied. I just shrugged. Taking the drink and chips from my hands he smiled and kissed my cheek. "Thanks, you're the best, babe!" he said, finally giving me the smile I had come to know and love.

"Anything to keep you from using markers as weapons," I said. He chuckled, elbowing me in the ribs, before linking arms with me as we walked back to our study corner.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two! This one is based off:  
"What do you see in your future?"  
"Well, hopefully, a dog."

...

"I'm dying."

"No, you're not," I replied with eyes still closed.

"It's so hot, I'm going to die," Silver said. "Then you'll be all alone and sad again."

He was right, I would be sad but from where we were sitting under the shade of a large oak tree, I would take my chances on believing him.

It was a hot summer day, the sun was shining, birds singing, you get the picture. I was lying on the grass, classes had just gotten out and Silver and I decided to sit outside for awhile — apartments too hot to go back to till the evening.

Deciding that maybe I should check to see if he was actually okay I turned my head to the side, cracking an eyelid to peek through one eye. Silver the Hedgehog had had his back to the trunk but was now drooped over dramatically — clearly feeling the effects of the heat. I had to admit, seeing him like this made me thankful I didn't have as much chest fur as he did.

"Would you like to go cool off, get ice cream maybe?" I asked. Suddenly, he shot up, a sparkle in his eye.

"Oo! Yes, please!" He grinned.

"What happened to you dying?" I asked, amused at how excitable he was.

"You can't have ice cream if you're dead!"

.

"How about here?" Silver pointed to a bench across the way from the ice cream shop. I nodded in approval. We sat down and began eating our frozen dairy — I managed to talk him down to a simple waffle cone instead of the Sundae Supreme.

Time passed as Silver began to ramble on about things here and there. It was easy to feel the passion the other hedgehog gave off, making listening and chiming in occasionally an enjoyable experience. He never stayed on one topic for too long but never jumped to other subjects without letting me get a few words. I hate to admit it, but he still made my face a little warm when I did speak, he would lock eyes, soaking up every word before launching into a response.

Eventually, our conversations turned to the future.

"What do you see in your future?" I asked simply. He took a moment to think, absentmindedly gnawing on his strawberry ice cream.

"Well, hopefully, a dog."

I suddenly started laughing, harder than expected.

"I'm serious!" He protested, joining me, clearly not expecting such a reaction.

He caught my eye as we laughed. I imagined he was taking in the moment — it wasn't often that I ended up laughing this hard. I enjoyed the way his nose crinkled as he laughed. It was extremely disarming, something I realized when we had first started getting to know each other.

He had these little things — the was his nose crinkled, or how his eyes lit up when excited — that would slow down time and draw all my attention to him. At first, I hadn't realized how much I studied his effects on me.

Eventually, our laughter died down and Silver looked out, smiling softly.

"I really am serious," he repeated as he took my hand in his, thumbing over the top. "I imagine a nice sun-filled apartment with house-plants, plenty of space for my books, dogs, and — most importantly — the person I love most."

Goddammit. He got me.

I matched his smile, turning my head to him I leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"I like that future."

...

Hope you all enjoyed! Please remember to comment — it really motivates me to keep going. Love you all 3


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